


but satisfaction brought it back.

by lowestZenith



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Agoraphobia, Depression, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-26
Updated: 2014-10-26
Packaged: 2018-02-06 06:48:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1848424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lowestZenith/pseuds/lowestZenith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"A bit after the interruption about the handkerchief, Bofur heard a pony sidling up to his own. He felt curious to turn around and meet Nori’s intent stare."</p>
<p>Bofur and Nori find themselves learning a lot from each other over the course of the quest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. questions answered but not asked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nori is awkward

A bit after the interruption about the handkerchief, Bofur heard a pony sidling up to his own. He felt curious to turn around and meet Nori’s intent stare.

“Hullo,” he said.

Nori stared at him for a few long moments before replying.  
“That was nice of you, to tear off part of your shirt for the Hobbit,” he said, but he sounded like he was asking a question. Bofur wondered if there was an underlying conversation he didn’t understand.

“Oh, just… helping out..” he chuckled nervously.

Nori cocked his head to the side- it kind of made him look like an exotic bird. “Don’t you think he should get used to having no handkerchief? It’s a hard road we’re walking, nothing like his cozy Shire.”

Bofur frowned at him. Was Nori trying to start an argument? Bofur just didn’t understand where this conversation was coming from. He thought that the two of them had gotten on well last night. “Well, that’s exactly why I wanted to help. He’s not used to hardship, this’ll be worse for him than it is for us. Why not be friendly?” He wondered if that last bit was a tad too pointed.

Nori nodded for some reason and looked very satisfied.

Bofur didn’t understand at all. Nori seemed to have understood something though, because he said, “Thank you for curing my curiousity, Master Bofur.” And then turned back to ride with his brothers.

The mane of Bofur’s pony received his confused expression.


	2. interfering (what goes around comes around, nori)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nori gets a clue

Ori was the youngest and had the best hearing. “What was that all about?”

Nori just shrugged while Dori looked between the two of them.

“Why, what happened?” Dori asked.

When it was clear Nori wasn’t going to volunteer any information, Ori piped up. “He was bothering Bofur about the hobbit!”  
Nori frowned. He wasn’t bothering Bofur. At least, he hadn’t thought so…

“Oh Nori,” Dori sighed. “What do I keep telling you about being so blunt-”

Ori interrupted. “Not that! He wasn’t being blunt he was just… acting really weird.”

Nori punched Ori lightly on the arm for that. As Ori complained, he looked forward to the line of ponies in front of them. His eyes wandered to Bofur.

Had he been rude in some way? He supposed trying to change how one acts is a messy process. If Bofur had been a fellow criminal, getting information from him would have involved a lot of posturing and possibly bribery. But he was trying to be sociable AND reformed, so he did a lot of implying and not saying what he meant, like Dori always did. That’s probably where he went wrong. He made a mental note not to do that again. If he decided to approach any Company members, he’d do it as himself.


	3. nori cheers up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bofur is kind but still loves a laugh. nori doesn't fare too well in the great outdoors

As they settled down the first night, Bofur watched everyone settle into family groups- except for the hobbit, who was sitting on his bedroll a distance from any other groups. After setting down his own bedroll in between his brothers, Bofur approached Bilbo.  
“You look a bit cold sitting there by yourself. You’re welcome to sleep near us.” Bilbo looked up at him with a tentative smile. 

Across the fire this was all absorbed by Nori.

Nori himself was having trouble sleeping due to a buzzing in his head. As soon as the Company had stopped traveling for the day and everyone was moving around setting up camp, he had begun feeling strangely. As he lay down to sleep, the buzzing turned into an underlying sense of fear. Staying still and unconscious in the wilderness was becoming an increasingly unpleasant idea to him. He was used to sleeping inside, facing the entrances to a room…Currently he felt like a prey animal, vulnerable to any Men or orcs who may pass by. As he tried to calm his speeding heart, he looked over the edge of his bedroll to observe the scene across the fire from him.

Bilbo was dragging his bag and bedroll towards Bofur, Bifur and Bombur at Bofur’s encouragement. Setting his bedroll next to Bombur’s at the edge of the group, Bilbo began to lay down.  
“Wait-“ Bofur interrupted. His face was a picture of hesitant alarm.“You may not want to sleep next to him...”  
Bilbo blinked. “Why not?”  
“He tends to roll over in his sleep, and- well, you can see him... let’s just say someone as small as you would be wiser to be far away when that happens.”  
Picking up his things, Bilbo was very quick to settle down on the other side of the group next to Bifur. As Biblo passed him, Bofur allowed a grin to relax his face. He giggled silently to himself. Bilbo’s terrified face at the prospect of smothering-by-Bombur was priceless. Bombur didn’t actually crush small people in his sleep- he slept like a rock- but he was prone to snoring loudly and Bofur wouldn’t subject someone outside the family to that. A little embellishment didn’t hurt, he thought, and brought him some amusement. He then turned back towards his sleeping companions and sat down in his place between his brothers. 

Nori could clearly see by their expressions that Bofur had just made some kind of trick on the Hobbit. He could also witness that Bofur’s grin was infectious. Nori found his breathing relaxing and closed his eyes with a smile in them.


	4. glances and gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> its totally normal for a romantic relationship to start by staring at each other from afar, right? who is letting me write romance?

They found a nice clearing surrounding the ruins of a farmer’s house, and everyone was eager to set up camp, except apparently Gandalf. Nori found himself eavesdropping on the conversation between the wizard and Thorin. He tried to believe he didn’t need to worry about micromanaging everything and walked towards the camp looking for a distraction. Bofur was helping Bombur prepare the food and Nori decided to chip in on the second pot.

Bofur watched Nori approach them and then quickly looked away. He busied himself filling a couple of bowls and then recruited Bilbo to give them to the princes. Nori seemed to be lingering at the nearby pot even though it was finished, and Bofur wondered if he was about to be confronted with strange questions again. But as Bofur sat down with his own food, Nori sat several feet away. Bofur then turned to his other side, where Gloin was talking extensively about his plans for his family once Erebor was reclaimed and Ori listened with a strained polite expression on his face. He concentrated on his food, but found someone addressing him.

“So, Bofur…” Ori started, “Why did you decide to come on this journey?”

  
Bofur’s eyes met Bombur’s over the fire. Bombur’s face was carefully blank. Then, Bofur put on a smile and said, “Well, I heard there was free beer!”

  
The Company all laughed, except for Nori. Which wasn’t unusual, Bofur had noticed that Nori was more likely to smile silently at a good joke then laugh loudly and freely like he himself did- but Nori wasn’t grinning. He was just looking at Bofur. Bofur dropped his smile and looked back, feeling it was impossible not to be caught in that penetrating stare. But before he could start to worry if he was being awkward or what Nori was on about, Fili burst out of the trees.

“Trolls! They’ve got Bilbo –“

Everyone got up and ran where Fili was pointing.

After the whole ordeal with the trolls, they found the trolls cave and Bofur was amazed to see so much gold in one place. He knew theoretically that the richest people had at least this much wealth, but still, he hadn’t seen so much money in one place before. He suggested burying it, and Gloin pitched in immediately. Gloin ordered Nori, who was passing by, to bring a shovel. Bofur had the passing thought that he was surprised Nori didn’t get involved on his own. In fact, Nori hadn’t even really looked at the gold. Bofur knew from the meetings held before the journey that Nori was a thief. Wouldn’t a thief be riveted by so much wealth there for the taking? Bofur glanced at Nori’s calm face and scolded himself. He should know better than to judge people like that. He continued to bury the chest of gold, thinking on the future, imagining his nieces and nephews well fed and wearing beautiful, good quality clothing.

Nori went to explore the commotion outside the cave to discover a strange person. The person was talking to Gandalf, and they both looked worried. As the last of the dwarves left the cave, they all gathered around and whispers about the strange wizard were passed among them.

“Is he...a Man?”  
“Is that bird shit?”  
“What are they talking about? Let’s get closer-“

The conversation was interrupted by an unearthly howl.


	5. rivendell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nori and bofur finally have a proper conversation (alternatively, 'bofur gets his chance to be awkward')

As they walked in file into the gorge, Bofur patted the walls of rock surrounding them. It wasn’t the familiar rock of the Blue Mountains, but it was rock, and that was enough to comfort him after being hunted by the orc pack. The pathway ahead of him opened up to stop abruptly at the edge of a cliff face, leaving the scenery in front of them open to the eye. Bofur moved forward to allow the dwarves behind him to do the same, and he marveled at the sight below and ahead. Rivendell lay before him, with a layer of mist surrounding it from the waterfall’s cascade. The sunlight overhead reflected off delicately structured spires and decorated walkways connecting various buildings. Bofur looked to his brother and made a face. Elves. He saw Nori with a similarly disgruntled look on his face, and laughed to himself before starting to move towards Rivendell.

 

Their stay at Rivendell was good for all of the Company, but even more so for Nori. Bofur noticed that Nori laughed instead of smiled, horsed around, and talked to people other than his brothers. Bofur also noticed that as Nori talked and laughed more, he revealed a sense of mischief which Bofur quite appreciated. He didn’t know what could’ve caused a change so sudden, and it wasn’t really his business, but… he wondered.

 

A few nights into their stay, Bofur got his chance to make a fool of himself about the issue. Most of the dwarves were gathered together in the evening, as they had since the first night. Nori was sitting near Bofur, and Bofur tried to pay attention to everyone equally, but the thought of Nori distracted him. First the dwarf approached him to have a puzzling conversation which made Bofur wonder if Nori disapproved of his actions, then he kept to himself for a while, and now his behavior changed suddenly. In short, Bofur felt there was probably an interesting reason for how Nori acted, and he wanted to find out.

In a lull in the conversation, he tried to observe Nori surreptitiously. Bofur, unfortunately, wasn’t good with subtlety and Nori noticed. Nori looked back at Bofur and smiled. “Yes?”

Bofur panicked. What did he say as a reason for staring? Mahal, he should think of something fast, before he looked weird. “Nothing. It’s just. I was wondering.”

Nori raised his braided eyebrow. “Yeah?” Shit. What should Bofur say now? He couldn’t think of anything. “Well, I’ve noticed you’ve… changed a bit recently.” Great. Well done, just blurt it out.

Nori seemed to be laughing behind his calm expression. “In what way?”

Bofur figured since they were on the topic he may as well be honest. “Well you’ve been talking way more than you used to.” Bofur then thought, maybe that sounded insulting. “Not that that’s bad! I like it when you talk!” Gods damn it, when was someone going to shut him up? Nori was outwardly grinning now.

“You like it, huh?”

Bofur didn’t know what to say to that. Maybe his face was a sight, because Nori chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t look like that, nothing to worry about. Actually I have been feeling different.” Bofur sighed in relief that apparently Nori wasn’t put off by his awkwardness. Nori looked out into the distance and continued.

“Its kinda backwards but. After the fight with the trolls… I felt better about this whole journey. I saw that me and my brothers survived that fight. And, that I had good dwarves to cover my back.” Nori turned back to Bofur and smiled at him. Bofur felt a strange tightness in his chest at that smile. “So I guess I’m more relaxed.”

Bofur wondered at that. Nori didn’t seem the kind of dwarf to be afraid, he was always calm. Although, he was assuming things about Nori again. Maybe it would be best if the two of them started on a fresh slate. What he knew for sure about Nori was; he laughed and played pranks when he was relaxed, he cared for his brothers, and he was painfully handsome when he smiled.

Bofur smiled back. “I’m glad.”


	6. promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nori isn't having a good time, till he is

Once they reached the Misty Mountains, the weather got colder and rainier and Bofur was not pleased about that. He pulled his hat down as far as it would to cover his ears and didn’t make as many jokes as before. In his head he was preoccupied with memories of cold nights in their cheap wooden house outside the mountain. He looked behind him to see Bombur, who was lagging behind. Bombur was no longer a shivering child asking why they didn’t have more blankets, but he was still Bofur’s little brother, so Bofur stopped and let the line of dwarves carry his brother to him. Joining at his side, he said, ‘I could use a warm bite to eat right now, how ‘bout you?” Bombur just grinned at him and they kept on walking together.

The first night after they left the forest for the bare land between them and the base of the mountain, Nori couldn’t sleep. He tried to lay down but every gust of wind wound him up until he jumped up and started to pace around. Anxiety turned his mind in circles and his eyes were unseeing, avoiding tripping over a rock or pack by mere instinct. This frenzied pacing caught the attention of those still awake- Dori and Bofur.

Dori watched Nori from under his blankets, wondering what was going on. But Dori was used to fretting over Ori and scolding Nori, and he didn’t know how to do it any other way. “Nori! What are you doing? Come back to your bedroll! You’ll just keep everyone up!”

Nori paused to glare at his brother. “I know how to be quiet, unlike some people,” he whispered. He then resumed his pacing.

Dori huffed, turned his back to Nori pointedly- and went to sleep.

Sitting on the edge of the camp and watching the whole exchange, Bofur raised his eyebrows. He would even whistle, but he didn’t want to wake anyone. If he had talked to one of his older relatives like that, he would’ve gotten a slap up the head no matter how old he was. He looked back at Nori, who had turned in his pacing again and was walking in his direction. Bofur decided to smile kindly at him, but Nori didn’t notice, being too wrapped up in his thoughts. Bofur frowned.

“Hey, so…” he started. Nori looked up at him. “Having trouble sleepin?”

Nori stared at him for a moment.

He continued. “Cuz if you are, I wouldn’t mind some company on this watch.”

Nori stared at him for another moment.

Somewhere, in a corner of his mind not filled with inexplicable anxiety, Nori remembered his promise to Dori-

_Dori was packing quickly and efficiently, all while lecturing a mile a minute. What was unusual, though, was for once Nori was listening to him. He figured that since it was about the quest they were risking the family’s future on, Dori was, for once, worth listening to. And what he was saying was this.. “-to act normal, or as close as you can possibly get anyway, you know this is a miraculous opportunity and we can’t have you ruining it, I know the rules are different with your ‘friends’ but we’ll be traveling with NOBLES, they expect a certain propriety, and Mahal knows your manners can alienate even commoners, so you’re going to have to …”_

And then he remembered his promise to himself-

_But he was trying to be sociable AND reformed, so he did a lot of implying and not saying what he meant, like Dori always did. That’s probably where he went wrong. He made a mental note not to do that again. If he decided to approach any Company members, he’d do it as himself._

After a few moments, in which Bofur began to shift around nervously, Nori walked over and sat next to him, staring straight ahead. Bofur looked sideways at Nori and Nori, feeling his gaze, ignored it. Eventually Bofur stopped looking at him and stared off into the distance he was supposed to be watching, and started humming quietly. Nori smiled. He threw away Dori’s words echoing in his head and started humming along.

“What- you know that song?” Bofur asked delightedly.

“Of course I do.” Nori smirked. And then chuckled when Bofur started singing the rude lyrics under his breath. He hummed along, and when they finished the song they laughed together, although Nori had to shush Bofur as he was in danger of waking everyone up. They lapsed into silence. Nori noticed his mind was silent also. He sighed.

After a few minutes, Bofur turned to look at Nori and found him asleep on the ground next to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey so im taking a break from this fic cuz ive been having a hard time lately but its definitely not abandoned... i'll start updating again, probably in the summer. thanks for all the kudos/bookmarks :)


End file.
